BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH DIRK KOETTER
Opening Statement: "We played hard. We played hard enough. We just did not play well enough today. The turnovers, as it is in many
games, those two turnovers led to two touchdowns. We didn't get any the other way. When you have two turnovers like that that lead to 14
quick points, against a quarterback (Drew Brees) like they have, it's just going to be tough sledding."
On the play of the offense: "We didn't have the ball very much in the first half. We did move it a lot better in the second half, there's no question.
I think that we only had four possessions in the first half. We scored on one of them. I felt like we'd got stopped on third-and-one on one
(possession). That always hurts you. That should be high percentage (conversion) on third-and-one. We got stopped, I think, on the third series. We
did better than we had been on offense today, but not good enough."
On not being able to consistently stop the Saints offense today: "We could not get as much pressure on him as we did in the first game. They ran
the ball better than they did in the first game. I think we missed Will Gholston today in the run game. Even though we had two sacks (today), we
pressured them consistently in the last game. I thought the combination of us running by him and him doing a really good job of stepping up (was a
factor in their success). I mean, he stepped up through our rush and made plays after stepping up in the pocket that hurt us today."
On not playing Doug Martin today: "Coaches decision. We have four backs, and can't give them all touches. We sat Jacquizz (Rodgers) a week
ago. (Charles) Sims and Peyton Barber are a lot more involved in special teams, so we really only have room for one primary ballcarrier right now.
I felt like it was better for us in this game to go with Jacquizz."
On the team likely not making the playoffs: "I'm not going to worry too much about that right now because we just got beat by the Saints. I'm
not going to be worried too much about that until after we get back to work on Monday. However that works out, it works out. We knew all week
what our job was, it was to win today. We didn't. Whatever happens after that that is for the math professors to figure out."
On Jameis Winston throwing an interception into double coverage: "They ran a two-cover. You can still throw that ball, but you just can't
overthrow it that far. You cannot miss it that far over the top and that far inside because it gets to the safety. That's one of the things that (Jairus)
Byrd is best at. He does have really good ball skills. That wasn't a great play call by me. I didn't help him out either."BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH DIRK KOETTER
Opening Statement: "We played hard. We played hard enough. We just did not play well enough today. The turnovers, as it is in many
games, those two turnovers led to two touchdowns. We didn't get any the other way. When you have two turnovers like that that lead to 14
quick points, against a quarterback (Drew Brees) like they have, it's just going to be tough sledding."
On the play of the offense: "We didn't have the ball very much in the first half. We did move it a lot better in the second half, there's no question.
I think that we only had four possessions in the first half. We scored on one of them. I felt like we'd got stopped on third-and-one on one
(possession). That always hurts you. That should be high percentage (conversion) on third-and-one. We got stopped, I think, on the third series. We
did better than we had been on offense today, but not good enough."
On not being able to consistently stop the Saints offense today: "We could not get as much pressure on him as we did in the first game. They ran
the ball better than they did in the first game. I think we missed Will Gholston today in the run game. Even though we had two sacks (today), we
pressured them consistently in the last game. I thought the combination of us running by him and him doing a really good job of stepping up (was a
factor in their success). I mean, he stepped up through our rush and made plays after stepping up in the pocket that hurt us today."
On not playing Doug Martin today: "Coaches decision. We have four backs, and can't give them all touches. We sat Jacquizz (Rodgers) a week
ago. (Charles) Sims and Peyton Barber are a lot more involved in special teams, so we really only have room for one primary ballcarrier right now.
I felt like it was better for us in this game to go with Jacquizz."
On the team likely not making the playoffs: "I'm not going to worry too much about that right now because we just got beat by the Saints. I'm
not going to be worried too much about that until after we get back to work on Monday. However that works out, it works out. We knew all week
what our job was, it was to win today. We didn't. Whatever happens after that that is for the math professors to figure out."
On Jameis Winston throwing an interception into double coverage: "They ran a two-cover. You can still throw that ball, but you just can't
overthrow it that far. You cannot miss it that far over the top and that far inside because it gets to the safety. That's one of the things that (Jairus)
Byrd is best at. He does have really good ball skills. That wasn't a great play call by me. I didn't help him out either."
BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH DIRK KOETTER
Opening Statement: "We played hard. We played hard enough. We just did not play well enough today. The turnovers, as it is in many
games, those two turnovers led to two touchdowns. We didn't get any the other way. When you have two turnovers like that that lead to 14
quick points, against a quarterback (Drew Brees) like they have, it's just going to be tough sledding."

On the play of the offense: "We didn't have the ball very much in the first half. We did move it a lot better in the second half, there's no question.
I think that we only had four possessions in the first half. We scored on one of them. I felt like we'd got stopped on third-and-one on one
(possession). That always hurts you. That should be high percentage (conversion) on third-and-one. We got stopped, I think, on the third series. We
did better than we had been on offense today, but not good enough."

On not being able to consistently stop the Saints offense today: "We could not get as much pressure on him as we did in the first game. They ran
the ball better than they did in the first game. I think we missed Will Gholston today in the run game. Even though we had two sacks (today), we
pressured them consistently in the last game. I thought the combination of us running by him and him doing a really good job of stepping up (was a
factor in their success). I mean, he stepped up through our rush and made plays after stepping up in the pocket that hurt us today."

On not playing Doug Martin today: "Coaches decision. We have four backs, and can't give them all touches. We sat Jacquizz (Rodgers) a week
ago. (Charles) Sims and Peyton Barber are a lot more involved in special teams, so we really only have room for one primary ballcarrier right now.
I felt like it was better for us in this game to go with Jacquizz."

On the team likely not making the playoffs: "I'm not going to worry too much about that right now because we just got beat by the Saints. I'm
not going to be worried too much about that until after we get back to work on Monday. However that works out, it works out. We knew all week
what our job was, it was to win today. We didn't. Whatever happens after that that is for the math professors to figure out."

On Jameis Winston throwing an interception into double coverage: "They ran a two-cover. You can still throw that ball, but you just can't
overthrow it that far. You cannot miss it that far over the top and that far inside because it gets to the safety. That's one of the things that (Jairus)
Byrd is best at. He does have really good ball skills. That wasn't a great play call by me. I didn't help him out either."

BUCCANEERS QB JAMEIS WINSTON
On the disappointment of coming up short: "We played hard. We have a chance next week to bounce back,
so that is what we are focused on."

On (running back) Doug Martin not playing: "I found out before the game like everyone else. Of course, I
wanted him out there. But I have nothing to say about that."

On the offense's slow start: "We have just got to take advantage of every opportunity we get when we are out
there on the field. It was three or four possessions. So we have just got to take advantage of those. We have got
to find a way. We've got to find a way to put the ball in the end zone for our defense."

On the interception to start the second half: "That was just a crazy play on my part. No one was open. I tried
to give my guy a chance. (I should) throw it out of bounds, take the next play, flip the field. It was just very
indecisive by me and very uncharacteristic. That should not have happened."

On the scoring drives that followed: "It was just the fight. We just continued to fight, continued to bounce
back. You know, some stuff did not end up going our way. But (we) never want to lose a fight. Teams continue
to stay up, continues to grind, and bounce back."

On slim playoff chances: "It hurts. Our focus is to finish the year on a good note. Who knows? We don't
know. We are going to play next week like it's our Super Bowl again, so we have just got to continue to play
hard and stay up."

On his message to his teammates: "Our season is not over. (We have to) Continue to fight, Continue to
bounce back. We did not play well enough to win. Their quarterback had a better day than I had. I turned the
ball over twice; he turned the ball over zero (times). That's just how the game goes in the NFL. We are going to
bounce back, fix things that we messed up, eliminate the negatives, and build on the positives."

On the positive notes from today's game: "The rhythm that we had. Those drives that we did not score (on),
we were looking good. We have to be consistent at that and stay true to that."

On next week's game against Carolina: "It's huge (in) just jumping us into next season. God willing, we will
get a playoff chance. We would love that. But the main thing is to focus, finish the season strong, and hold
nothing back. We have nothing to lose. We are out there playing for our lives, so we have to go out there and
compete. We will play a great Carolina team."

On if the potential for the first winning season since 2010 has crossed his mind: "Not at all. I want to make
the playoffs. That is my ultimate goal, to win the Super Bowl. I am trying to get away from that standard of just
being OK. We want to be great. I did not play great tonight, but I am going to keep working my tail off to help
my team get better."


WR #13 MIKE EVANS:
"This was a tough one all the way around. We came into the game knowing we had a lot to play for and we just
didn't get it done. We moved the ball real well and I helped our team score the one touchdown, but it wasn't
enough. We now have to regroup and with one important game ahead of us, we have a lot to play for and we'll
be ready."

C #68 JOE HAWLEY:
"I didn't hear about (Doug Martin) being inactive until we started the game. It didn't really matter because as an
offensive line, we still have to execute and make the blocks. I thought we really moved the ball well, especially
in the second half. But you can't trade points with the Saints, and they showed today they have a great offense."

RB #32 JACQUIZZ RODGERS:
"You always have to be ready when your number is called. You take a lot of reps in practice and get ready so
when it's time, it's time. I'm real upset right now because we let one slip away. We knew the importance of this
game coming in. But now, coming back into practice, we've got to put this one behind us and prepare over the
Christmas holiday because we still have one more game to play. We have to finish the season the right way."

"It didn't matter that my number was called. It's just 'next man up', that's how we look at it as a team. We have
to rally as a team when things change and that's what we tried to do."

DT #97 AKEEM SPENCE:
"I thought our defense played well, but we are still facing a problem with our tackling. We gave up way too
many yards after the initial contact. That showed today and I thought that was the difference."

"It really didn't affect me knowing he (Doug Martin) wasn't going to play. We have a lot of great running backs
on our team – you saw what Jacquizz (Rodgers) did today, and Chuck (Charles Sims III) did a great job filling
in. We've got a lot of guys who can step in for him and fill that void."

"They (Saints) played a lot better today, but like I said, we were at fault because of all of the missed tackles.
And then we were facing a Hall of Fame quarterback like Drew Brees. And when you can't turn over the ball,
the other team starts to put up a lot of points, and that's what happened today."

CB #21 ALTERRAUN VERNER
"He (Drew Brees) put a lot of pressure on us today with a lot of checkdowns and changing plays at the line of
scrimmage. I thought for the most part we held them, but we gave up way too many plays in the middle of the
field. We lost some ground today, so now we have to look at the film and get ready for Carolina next week."